Bottle-vending machine



Aug. 16, 1927.

J. E. SAPP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BOTTLE VENDING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1926 L a a I l l lllll' l' gmantoz .Jkmes 1? 54 6 6 Quorum 1,639,615 Aug. 16, 1927. J. E- SAPP BOTTLE VENDING MACHINE Fil May 1925 2 sham-sum 2 '11,, III,

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//1 1 1 atto'znzq Patent Aug. ie, 1927.

NITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. SAPP, OF BAINBRIDGE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROLAND BOWEE, OF BAINBRIDGE, GEORGIA.

BOTTLE- ENDING uacnmn application filed. Kay 20,

This invention relates to automaticvending machine, and more particularly to a machine for dispensing bottled wares such as soft drinks.

The principal object of the invention "is to construct a machine of the class described which is automatic to the extent that it delivers the bottles one at a time, the inadvertent simultaneous discharge of two or more bottles being prevented by means inherent in the construction of the apparatus.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a plurality of bottle receiving and holding receptacles, each for a different kind of drink and similarly operated, with means for-selectively actuating any one of them, to the end that the desired variety of drink shall be dispensed.-

Still another object of the invention is the provision of means, actuated by that one of a series of bottles which is in'readiness to be discharged, for indicating whether the receptacle is empty or still contains bottles, and functioning also, when there are no more bottles in the receptacle. as a lock to prevent further actuation of the receptacle.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a cabinet in which the several receptacles are pivotally arranged, said cabinet including demountable portions which may be opened or removed for the purpos of refilling the receptacles.

With the above. and other objects in View the invention consists in the novel combination of elements exemplified in the construction shown in the drawings and described in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved vending machine;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a crosssection taken along the line 8-3 of Fig. 1;

' Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of the selective actuating mechanism;

Figure 5 is a cross-section taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Figure 6 is a section on an enlarged scale through a portion of one of the tiers showing the one-way bottle feeding valves;

mg, Seria1No.110,409.

Figure 7 is a section taken along the line 77 of Fig. 6;

Figure 8 is an elevation of the actuating lever and associated parts.

Referring now in detail to the several figures; the numeral 1 represents a cabinet which may have any desired shape or size, the same being preferably provided with an ice-tray 2 at the top and a water-tank 3 at the bottom. A receiving shelf 4 projects from the forward side of said cabinet near its lower edge, and the front of the cabinet, which may be double-walled to add to its heat insulating efliciency, may be opened for the purpose of filling the cabinet with the bottles of liquid which are to be dispensed. In the present instance, the front of the cabinet is, for convenience, formed in two parts, the upper part 5 being hinged so that it maybe folded back on the top of the cabinet, giving access to the icetray, and the lower part 6 which houses certain parts of the operating mechanism beingbodily removable. A slot 7 extends across the front of the cabinet near the bottom through which slot the bottles are delivered to the receiving shelf 4. Doors 8 which depend hingedly from the part 6, normally close the slot 7, said doors being automatically opened by the weight of the discharged bottle, the latter rolling upon a downwardly inclined wall 9 forming the bottom of the slot 7. The receiving shelf 4 is preferably formed with finger slots 10 the purpose of which is to facilitate grasping the bottles.

The invention contemplates the dispensing of several kinds of liquids or soft drinks, or goods in cylindrical packages, a separate receptacle being provided for each variety. In the present illustrative embodiment of the invention there are three compartments 11 pivotally mounted upon trunnion's 12 journalled in bearing block 13, suitably supported. It will be observed from Figure '3 that the receptacles are mounted in an unbalanced manner so that normally they are tilted forwardly as shown in full lines in said figure. Each of the receptacles is provided with a plurality of transverse partitions 14, terminating at a sufficient distance from the rear wall of the receptacle to allow tles. The. front of each receptacle is formed with a door 15*whi'ch may be opened upon occasion to permit the receptacle to be replenished with filled bottles. The door terminates adjacent the lowermost of the partitions 14, the front of the receptacle being open below this-point providing an outlet, operatively related at certain times to the slot 7, through which the bottles are'one at a time discharged.

Each receptacle, atits lower forward edge is provided with a downwardly inclined lip 16 extending. angularly from the bottom thereofand the cabinet is constructed'with an upwardly inclined member 17 meeting the bottom wall 9 of the slot 7 at its upper edge and ending adjacent the lip 16, forming'with said lip a tray in which one of the bottles is retained, as-shown in Figure 3, until it is elevated by the upward oscillation of the receptacle, to the level of the discharge slot 7.

The actuating'means by which any one of the receptacles may be selectively elevated to'discharge position consists of a gear 18 suitably secured to one side of each recep- *tacle, and sectors 19 in mesh with each gear,

the hubs'20 of each sector being formed as independently rotatable sleeves having telescopic ends inter-engaged, so that the sleeves form a continuous hollow shaft suitably supported within the housing formed by the part 6 of the cabinet. A rod 21 reciprocates in said hollow shaft under the control of a hand lever 22 formed at one end of the said rod and being slidable longitudinally in the slot 22, and laterally into any one of the re cesses 23, 24 and 25 in the hollow rack bar 26, the latter bein secured to the side of the cabinet, prefera ly at the end of the removable'part 6 thereof. Each of the recesses corresponds to the operative position of the rod 21 relative to each sector and the rod is provided at unequal intervals with polygonal enlargements or lugs 27, 28 and 29 respectively, engageable with similarly shaped key-ways formed in the sleeves 20, preferably in the planes of the sectors. The enlargements are so spaced that when the lever 22 is opposite the recess 25, the enlargement 27 is interengaged with the left hand sector, viewed from Fig. 4, the other two enlargements being out of engagn'ient with their adjacent sectors. lVith the parts in this position, if the lever 22 be turned laterally into the recess 25 the left hand sector will be actuated to oscillate the gear 18 clockwise, viewed from Fig. 3, tilting the receptacle with which it is associated upwardly to the dotted position indicated at X in Fig. 3, in which position the lip 16 is in the plane of the inclined floor 9 of the slot 7, the bottom 28 of the receptacle being inclined downwardly in the opposite direction.

When the hand lever 22 is moved opposite the recess 24, Fig. 1, the enlargement 27 passes out of the right of the left hand sector, freeing it from control of the actuating mechanism. At the same time the intermediate enlargement 28 moves into engagement with the middle sector placing it under the control of the actuating means so that when the lever is moved forward into the recess 24, the second receptacle is tilted in similar manner, the first receptacle is actuated by moving the lever into the recess 23. When released from operative connection with the rod 21, the sectors automatically return, each to a definite normal position under the urge of the spring 29,.thereby assisting also in returning the receptacles to their normal inclined positions.

In the operation of my improved vending machine, it is filled with bottles by opening the front of the cabinet, this being accomplished in a manner hereinbefore described by throwing back the hinged part- 5, and removing the part 6 together with the operating mechanism therein contained, this giving access to the doors 15 of the several receptacles. Opening of these doors gives access to the interior of the receptacles so that the bottles may be laid in tiers upon the several partitions 14, the bottles being allowed to roll down to till the lowermost tier, lying just above the bottom 28. Since, with each operation of the device the direction of in clination of the partitions and bottom of each receptacle is reversed, the bottles will tend to'roll back and forth. To inhibit this motion, the pawls 37 are provided, said pawls preferably consisting of wire bails depending in the path of the bottles in each tier and spaced apart approximately the diameter of said bottles. The bails are free to swing in one direction only, that is to say, in the direction of flow of the bottles toward the discharge opening of the receptacle, said bails being e ztoppcd from swinging in the opposite direction by the posts 30 against. which they abut. These posts may be formed by cutting out portions 'of the sides of the receptacle.

lVhen the receptacles have been filled, the doors 15 are closed and latched and the receptacles automatically til ,in a forward direction due to their un'ialanced pivotal mounting. This causes the first bottle in the bottom tier to roll out as shown at 31 in Fig. 3, resting partly upon the lip 16 and partly upon the inclined member 17, these parts formin a valley in which the bottle rests holding the receptacle tilted at a definite inclination. lYhile the bottle remains in the valley. it blocks the entrance to the receptacle. preventing the discharge of other bottles. \Vhen the part 6 of the cabinet is replaced, the teeth of the sectors automatically in-mesh with the gears 18.

Upon the elevation of the receptacle to the position X, Fig. 3, the bottle 31 is pushed up the inclined member 16 and finally rolls through the slot 7 onto the shelf 4. The other bottles of the lowermost tier are prevented from rolling out of the slot by the reverse inclination of the bottom 28 when the receptacle is in upwardly tilted position. When the operating means is released the receptacle returns by gravity to its normal downwardly inclined position, being assisted in some measure by the spring 29. When the receptacle reaches a position of tilt in which the bottom 28 begins to incline downwardly toward the front, another bottle rolls out upon the lip 16 and inclined member 17, in readiness to be discharged when the actuating means is again manipulated.

A lock is provided for rendering the vending machine inoperative when empty, this being a particularly important feature when the actuating means is coin-controlled, a construction which is within the purview of the invention. This lock, in the illustrative embodiment of my invention,' consists of an intermediately pivoted lever 32 one for each receptacle. having the inner end thereof projectable through a slot 33 in the inclined member 17. said end being in a position to be depressed by the bottle 31 which lies in readiness to be discharged. Said endis so correlated to the lip 16 as to be out of the path of said lip while a bottle rests upon it but when the receptacle comes down empty and no bottle rolls out to depress the end of said lever, the latter remains up in a position in which it is wiped by the lip 16, yielding against the tension of the spring 3a to permit the lip 16 to pass, and then springing up behind said lip to prevent the return of the receptacle to discharge position should it be attempted to actuate it while empty.

The lever 32 is made also to serve the purpose of an index, to indicate whether the receptacle contains bottles or is empty. It is provided. for this purpose, with an arcuate face plate 35 at its outer end having the appropriate inscriptions such as Full on its lower half and Empty on its upper half. A small window 36 is provided for-each lever, opening through the wall of the cabinet preferably in a position from which it may be readily observed through the finger slots 10. When the inner end of the lever is depressed by a bottle the lower half of the face-plate is visible through the window, and when there is no bottle and the inner end of the lever is in elevated position, the upper half of the face plate is visible.

Any suitable means may be provided to safeguard the dispensing apparatus from unauthorized entry. In the present instance, I have shown a bar 40 which extends across the removable section 6 of the cabinet, one end of which is provided with a slot 41 engaging a staple 42 projecting from one end of the cabinet. A padlock passed through the staple secures the bar in place.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the specific details described are not limitative in their effect upon the invention, but merely illustrative, except in so far as they are expressly prescribed by the terms of the appended, claims.

\Vhile I have shown and described the receptacle as filled from the front through a hinged door or lid, it is to be understood that so far as affects the invention it is immaterial from which side of the cabinet the receptacle is filled, front or back or side, as it is a mere 'matter of selection or preference.

The designation bottle wherever it occurs in the claims and -throughout the specification is to be construed to define a package or container of cylindrical formation, substantially. whether the container or package is for liquids or other vendible commodity, the term bottle being merely used for convenience of expression.

Having fully described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is 1. In a bottle vending machine, a receptacle pivotally mounted in unbalanced relation, with the preponderzmce of weight toward -the front. causing the bottom of said receptacle normally to assume a position in which the bottom thereof is inclined downwardly toward the front, partitions in said receptacle lying parallel to the bottom, said partitions being spaced apart, and from said bottom, to form bottle receiving tiers, the lowermost of which is open" at the front, said partitions being arranged to form space at the back to permit descent of bottles to the lowermost tier, means to permit the dis charge of but one bottle from the front of the lowermost tier, when the receptacle is in normal position, and means for elevating the front of said receptacle sufficiently to reversely incline said partitions and bottom.

2. In a bottle vending machine, a receptacle pivotally mounted in unbalanced relation, with the preponderance of weight towards the front, causing said receptacle normally to assume a position in which the bottom thereof is inclined downwardly toward the front, said'receptacle being open 1 at the front adjacent the bottom. to permitdischarge of bottles, a lip at the lower frontpart of said receptacle inclining downwardly from the plane of the bottom. a fixed inclined member forming with said lip a valley into which a bottle is gravitately discharged from said receptacle. said bottle forming a stop to prevent the discharge of more bottles while it remains in said valley and means for elevatingthe front of said receptacle to a point at which the bottom inclines in a reverse direction, preventing the 'ravital discharge of more bottles, said 1nclined member being arranged to terminate adjacent the position assumed by said lip, at this point, whereby the bottle carried by said lip is pushed over the top of said inclined member.

3. In a bottle vending machine, a receptacle, oscillatably mounted, having a bottle discharging opening at the lower front portion, a relatively fixed inclined member confronting said opening substantially throughout the arc of oscillation of said receptacle, forming with said receptacle a valley Within which a discharged bottle is normally retained in a position blocking said discharge opening, and means for elevating said receptacle until the lower bottle engaging edge thereof comes adjacent the top of said inclined member, pushing said retained bottle over the top of said inclined member.

4. In a bottle vending machine a receptacle, oscillatably mounted, having a bottle dis harging opening at the lower front portion, a relatively fixed inclined member confrrnting said opening substantially throughout the arc of oscillation of said receptacle, forming with said receptacle a valley within which a discharged bottle is normally'retained in a position blocking said discharge opening, and means for elevating said receptacle until the lower bottle cngagin edge thereof comes adjacent the top of said inclined member, pushing said retained bottle over said top, the bottom of said receptacle being rever'sely inclined, when this point of elevation is reached, to prevent discharge of other bottles.

5. In a bottle vending machine, a reccpta cle oscillatably mounted, having a bottle discharging opening at the lower front portion,

a relatively fixed inclined member confronting said opening substantially. throughout the arc of oscillation of said receptacle, forming with said receptacle a valley in which a discharged bottle is normally rctained in a position blocking said discharge opening, means for elevating said receptacle until the lower bottle engaging edge comes adjacent the top of said inclined member, to push said retained bottle over the top of said member, and normally elevated locking means projecting through a slot in said inclined member into the path of oscillation of said receptacle and adapted to be depressed by a discharged bottle when the receptacle is in lowermost position, said means remaining elevated when the receptacle is empty, preventing the elevation of said receptacle.

6. In a bottle vending machine, a receptacle oscillatably mounted in unbalanced relation, with the preponderance of weight toward the front, causing the front of said receptacle to assume a normal downwardly tilted position, said receptacle having a bot tle discharging opening at the lower front portion, and a lip depending angularly therefrom a relatively fixed inclined member confronting said opening substantially throughout the arc of oscillation of said receptacle, forming with said lip'a valley in which a discharged bottle is normally retained in a position blocking said discharge opening, means for elevating said receptacle until the lip comes adjacent the top of said inclined member, to push said retained bottle over the top of said member, a locking lever projecting through a slot in said inclined member into the 'path of oscillation of said lip adapted to .be depressed by a discharged bottle when the receptacle is in normal position, a spring for maintaining said lever elevated when no bottle is present to depress it, therebylpreventing the elevation of said receptac e.

7. In a bottle vending machine, a cabinet, a plurality of receptacles mounted in unbalanced relation within said cabinet, with the preponderance of weight toward the front, causing the fronts of said receptacles to assume a normal downwardly tilted position, each receptacle having a bottle discharging opening at the lower front portion, arelatively fixed inclined member within said cabinet, confronting said openings substantially throu hout the arc of oscillation of said receptac e, forming with said receptacles valleys in which discharged bottles from said receptacles are normally retained,

blocking the several discharge openings,

means for elevating each receptacle until the lower bottle engaging edge thereof comes adjacent said inclined member, to push the bottle engaged thereby over the top of said inclined member, and actuating means carried by said cabinet for selectively actuating the elevating means.

8. In a bottle vending machine, a cabinet,

a plurality of receptacles mounted in unbalanced relation within said cabinet, with the preponderance of weight toward the front, causing the fronts of said receptacles to assume a normal downwardly tilted position, each receptacle having a bottle discharging opening at the lower front portion, a relatively fixed inclined member within said cabinet, confronting said openings substan tially throughout the arc of oscillation of said receptacles, forming with said receptacles valleys in which discharged bottles from said receptacles are normally retained, blocking the several discharge openings, means for elevating each receptacle until the lower bottle engaging edge thereof comes adjacent said inclined member, to push the bottle engaged thereby over the top of said inclined member, locking levers projecting through slots in said inclined member, into the paths of oscillation of the several cabinets, each adapted to be depressed by a discharged bottle from the receptacle with which it is associated, when the receptacle is in normal position, means for maintaining each lever elevated when no bottle is present to depress it, preventing the elevation of the I receptacle in whose path of movement it lies,

and indicating means carried by said levers,

visible through the walls of said cabinet, for 1 indicating by the position of said levers, whether the receptacles contain bottles or are empty.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JAMES E. SAPP. 

